ound his reputation for political sagacity agreeably
recognised, and he fell into the attitude of an oracle whose jeremiads
had come true. When Lord Grey proposed the renewal of the Coercion Act
without alteration, Lord Althorp expressed a strong objection to such a
proceeding. He had assured Littleton that the Act would not be put in
force again in its entirety, and the latter, with more candour than
discretion, had communicated the intimation to O'Connell, who bruited it
abroad.

[Sidenote: O'CONNELL THROWS DOWN THE GAUNTLET]

Lord John had come to definite convictions about Ireland, and he was
determined not to remain in the Cabinet unless he was allowed to speak
out. On June 23 the Irish Tithe Bill reached the stage of committee, and
Littleton drew attention to the changes which had been introduced into
the measure--slight concessions to public opinion which Lord John felt
were too paltry to meet the gravity of the case. O'Connell threw down
the gauntlet to the Ministry, and asked the House to pass an amendment
asserting that the surplus revenues of the Church ought to be applied to
purposes of public utility. Peel laid significant stress on the divided
counsels in the Ministry, and accused Lord John of asserting that the
Irish Church was the greatest grievance of which the nation had ever had
to complain. The latter repudiated such a charge, and explained that
what he had said was that the revenues of the Church were too great for
its stability, thereby implying that he both desired and contemplated
its continued existence. Although not unwilling to support a mild
Coercion Bill, if it went hand in hand with a determined effort to deal
with abuses, he made it clear that repressive enactments without such an
effort at Reform were altogether repugnant to his sense of justice. He
declared that Coercion Acts were 'peculiarly abhorrent to those who
pride themselves on the name of Whigs;' and he added that, when such a
necessity arose, Ministers were confronted with the duty of looking
'deeper into the causes of the long-standing and permanent evils' of
Ireland. I am not prepared to continue the government of Ireland
without fully probing her condition; I am not prepared to propose bills
for coercion, and the maintenance of a large force of military and
police, without endeavouring to improve, so far as lies in my power, the
condition of the people. I will not be a Minister to carry on systems
which I think founded on